Our new Indie Games subforum is now open for business in G&T. Go and check it out, you might land a code for a free game. If you're developing an indie game and want to post about it, follow these directions. If you don't, he'll break your legs! Hahaha! Seriously though.

Our rules have been updated and given their own forum. Go and look at them! They are nice, and there may be new ones that you didn't know about! Hooray for rules! Hooray for The System! Hooray for Conforming!

[PRIME] Pre-PAX Dinner: Get Involved

Posts

Yeah, if you guys traditionally do a pub crawl after the dinner....and are dead set on going up to Cap Hill, the Ballroom is a bit of a walk uphill.

However, as I said in a previous post, our "other" nightspot of pubs - Belltown - is a couple of blocks away from it, and has a more eclectic array of pubs than hipsterbar-hipsterbar-gaybar-hipsterbar-hipstarbar-gaybar-hipsterbar-divebar-gaybar-hipsterbar.

Do you always get this snarky when someone is offering a positive suggestion and what is probably an ideal option, or do you reserve it for special occasions and the internet?

ALWAYS ANGRY ALL THE TIME
ALWAYS ANGRY ALL THE TIME
ALWAYS ANGRY ALL THE TIME
ALWAYS ANGRY ALL THE TIME
FFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-

My 24/7 snark train (yes, I'm snarky even when I sleep) is one of my more endearing qualities! It should be noted that my participation here is mostly in a scheduling/technical/monetary sense. I figured that if someone with disposable income showed up motivated that local Seattle people could handle that whole "actually talking to people" bit for me and thankfully I was right. I do appreciate the help, it's just that your initial post rubbed me the wrong way. Don't take it personal, I am, in fact, a giant abrasive dick.

Also holy shit @Saldek, you're super on the ball here. Love yah! (must be nice having a crew computer you don't need to sneak onto to use for only a few minutes at a time >.>)

I get home tomorrow so I'll be able to start to, yanno, actually do shit on the internet and make calls if necessary.

TOGSolid on May 2012

At the point in time when bullets can pass through the interdimensional walls, when firepower takes up the entirety and eternity of space and time all being stuck in a neverending life and death cycle as bullets recover and destroy their bodies in quick succession, no one able to think about anything but the sheer force of the bullets rapidly flying literally everywhere in the materium turning the warp itself into nothing but a sea of semi-automatic weaponry. Then there will be enough dakka.

Yeah, if you guys traditionally do a pub crawl after the dinner....and are dead set on going up to Cap Hill, the Ballroom is a bit of a walk uphill.

However, as I said in a previous post, our "other" nightspot of pubs - Belltown - is a couple of blocks away from it, and has a more eclectic array of pubs than hipsterbar-hipsterbar-gaybar-hipsterbar-hipstarbar-gaybar-hipsterbar-divebar-gaybar-hipsterbar.

And you accuse me of being selfish. Sounds like you want this moved just because you don't like the area the crawl is in.

You are definitely new here so lemme explain the Triwizard Drinking Tourney to you. It is a crawl that raises money for child's play. It is a crawl that also involves 400 drunks wandering the streets in 4 teams composed of two 50 man sub groups per team. Half of us are dressed vaguely like wizards(or in my case....well...look at my avatar) and 4 of us have music blasting megaphones. Last year you could easily spot about a dozen drunk Slytherins singing and dancing down the street to Party All The Time.

There are no hipsters around that night because we completely take over and raid the Hill.

So now do you understand why your selfish idea to randomly move the crawl is incredibley bad?

At the point in time when bullets can pass through the interdimensional walls, when firepower takes up the entirety and eternity of space and time all being stuck in a neverending life and death cycle as bullets recover and destroy their bodies in quick succession, no one able to think about anything but the sheer force of the bullets rapidly flying literally everywhere in the materium turning the warp itself into nothing but a sea of semi-automatic weaponry. Then there will be enough dakka.

Hi guys - I just got back from a 1 week trip to DC and Baltimore. I went with a friend, to eat and write for our food blog, but that's not important right now.

What is important is that the PPD has been happening for a number of years, and there are some hard truths that have been dialed in by experience:

1. Many PPD attendees aren't huge foodies. Most folks are there to socialize and the majority won't care whether it's a Tom Douglas meal or a Joe's Catered Sloppy Joes meal. If there's booze and food on a plate instead of in a bag, 90% of the attendees will be happy. I'm hopeful that we can substitute a fun, creative and low cost solution like a pig roast for more expensive foodie meals like Tom Douglas.

2. Capitol Hill. @Quintious, I 100% agree with your assessment of bars on the Hill, and I generally avoid it myself. But we also have a responsibility to keep it walking distance from both the Bar Crawl and the hotels and Cap Hill is simply the most convenient option. If we end up having to look at other neighborhoods for any reason (overbooking, lack of availability, etc...) we'll certainly consider Belltown and Downtown (I was thinking earlier that FareStart might be a good option, along with Palace Kitchen if it comes to that).

3. We get about 100-150 people at the dinner, and more than that at the Pub crawl. Both events get bigger every year. When we have it at Barca, it's catered. Regardless of where we go, there's a very good chance that it'll be catered at an event venue, instead of a sit down restaurant. When you're looking at thousands of dollars in price difference, it's more a matter of finding the best deal than the best food.

Lastly - in the interest of full disclosure, here's the research I've done so far (I don't have the exact numbers handy, will update post later)
-The Elysian is too expensive. It'd cost something ridiculous to shut it down for 2 hours on a Thursday night for us.
-I'd actually already contacted Shoe Repair, and it's reasonable but not as good as Barca.
-Barca cut us a screaming deal last year, but didn't allow minors. That could change, as we may be able to set up this year to allow under 21's.

Scouting Mission is on May 12th. Meet at 5:00 at the Comet Tavern. There. Done.

Just so's y'all know, my own personal mission is to find a kid-friendly location this year. Having no kids myself, I hate leaving them out of the dinner because kids are just so tasty!! But if that's not possible, there's a really good chance we'll do Barca again. They were accomodating, nice, want us back, and cut us some screamin' deals.

Owner of and General Badass Chick at Seattle's only Gamer-Owned Distillery, Old Ballard Liquor Co.
Pre-PAX Game Night is the only way to fly.
If you're not part of the Cookie Brigade, you're doing it wrong.

Oh yeah, one more thing: @Quintious, there's going to be THOUSANDS of people in town for PAX that night. There's absolutely no reason that you couldn't organize a smaller, more gourmet dinner or movable feast somewhere for folks who have a little more money to spend and are less interested in getting loud with a bunch of geeks. When we go to Boston for PAX, we go to the forum events for the social stuff, and then find other restaurants to eat at.

One thing that I really struggle with personally is there's definitely a 'New Guard v. Old Guard' kind of mentality on the forums and at the events. At the risk of angering the Gods, I'm going to say that encouraging new coordinators in with new events to mix it up a bit and try new stuff is a good thing.

Owner of and General Badass Chick at Seattle's only Gamer-Owned Distillery, Old Ballard Liquor Co.
Pre-PAX Game Night is the only way to fly.
If you're not part of the Cookie Brigade, you're doing it wrong.

Not to be too contrarian, (my event planning days are far in the past so I'm a bit rusty) but many places will lower their "shutdown" price if you can provide a guarantee of people/business. Given the popularity of the PPD and other factors, such a thing may not be so far out of reach.

However, I'm not from Seattle, and the Elysian may just be one of those places that'd rather be open than be certain to be busy (150 people is a lot of people to have, effectively captive on a Thurs IMHO) or may just have high prices in general (which of course raise the guarantee amount!)

there's definitely a 'New Guard v. Old Guard' kind of mentality on the forums and at the events. At the risk of angering the Gods, I'm going to say that encouraging new coordinators in with new events to mix it up a bit and try new stuff is a good thing.

New coordinators make things great, but aren't necessarily needed if events are successful. The great thing, like you mention, is that the community has grown so much that multiple events can be supported. A second more foodie style dinner is a great idea. Also, last year, there was a second parallel barcrawl run separate from the TWDT that was very successful. There's no reason to make major changes to the successful events in order to support new folks with new ideas we can handle ALL THE THINGS.

Not to be too contrarian, (my event planning days are far in the past so I'm a bit rusty) but many places will lower their "shutdown" price if you can provide a guarantee of people/business. Given the popularity of the PPD and other factors, such a thing may not be so far out of reach.

However, I'm not from Seattle, and the Elysian may just be one of those places that'd rather be open than be certain to be busy (150 people is a lot of people to have, effectively captive on a Thurs IMHO) or may just have high prices in general (which of course raise the guarantee amount!)

Yeah, it's a proper restaurant (and brewery), and they have a lot of regular business on Thursday. When I spoke with the manager, he basically said that they'd be happy to do it earlier in the week, but they risk pissing off their repeat clientele by shutting down for 2 hours on Thursday so they wanted more $$ to offset that.

Other restaurants in the area would probably be more ameniable to lower prices, but there aren't that many that can accomodate our crowd. Luckily, there are a LOT of event spaces in the area.

Owner of and General Badass Chick at Seattle's only Gamer-Owned Distillery, Old Ballard Liquor Co.
Pre-PAX Game Night is the only way to fly.
If you're not part of the Cookie Brigade, you're doing it wrong.

Not to be too contrarian, (my event planning days are far in the past so I'm a bit rusty) but many places will lower their "shutdown" price if you can provide a guarantee of people/business. Given the popularity of the PPD and other factors, such a thing may not be so far out of reach.

However, I'm not from Seattle, and the Elysian may just be one of those places that'd rather be open than be certain to be busy (150 people is a lot of people to have, effectively captive on a Thurs IMHO) or may just have high prices in general (which of course raise the guarantee amount!)

Yeah, it's a proper restaurant (and brewery), and they have a lot of regular business on Thursday. When I spoke with the manager, he basically said that they'd be happy to do it earlier in the week, but they risk pissing off their repeat clientele by shutting down for 2 hours on Thursday so they wanted more $$ to offset that.

Other restaurants in the area would probably be more ameniable to lower prices, but there aren't that many that can accomodate our crowd. Luckily, there are a LOT of event spaces in the area.

Eh, well it was worth a shot I suppose. Every place is a bit different. There are a few places near me (no where near seattle of course) that would say "You can deliver a certain 150 people who like booze?! Sold!" But if you have a fairly regular thursday crowd, I could totally see why you wouldn't want to kill the Golden Goose.

there's definitely a 'New Guard v. Old Guard' kind of mentality on the forums and at the events. At the risk of angering the Gods, I'm going to say that encouraging new coordinators in with new events to mix it up a bit and try new stuff is a good thing.

New coordinators make things great, but aren't necessarily needed if events are successful. The great thing, like you mention, is that the community has grown so much that multiple events can be supported. A second more foodie style dinner is a great idea. Also, last year, there was a second parallel barcrawl run separate from the TWDT that was very successful. There's no reason to make major changes to the successful events in order to support new folks with new ideas we can handle ALL THE THINGS.

That second crawl was fun to crash.

And yeah, more events is always awesome. If someone wants to do the Pre-PAX CREME FRAAAIIIIIICHE Dinner, that'd be cool.

TOGSolid on May 2012

At the point in time when bullets can pass through the interdimensional walls, when firepower takes up the entirety and eternity of space and time all being stuck in a neverending life and death cycle as bullets recover and destroy their bodies in quick succession, no one able to think about anything but the sheer force of the bullets rapidly flying literally everywhere in the materium turning the warp itself into nothing but a sea of semi-automatic weaponry. Then there will be enough dakka.

Scouting Mission is on May 12th. Meet at 5:00 at the Comet Tavern. There. Done.

Aw, I gotta work or else I would love to help you scout! I'm sure you're gonna find great places though!

I will buy a drink for anyone who arrives on a Vespa.

Owner of and General Badass Chick at Seattle's only Gamer-Owned Distillery, Old Ballard Liquor Co.
Pre-PAX Game Night is the only way to fly.
If you're not part of the Cookie Brigade, you're doing it wrong.

I don't really care where we go or what we eat - I've been to a Naval place and Fire&Ice for PPD one catered, the other a normal eatery. What matters more is price, because not everyone who wants to come will be able to afford $30+ drinks.

Also, location will matter, as lots of people will want to go to TWDR - at East getting a taxi back to the PBC was difficult as there were so many of us trying to get into taxis dressed as Pokemon - the drivers seemed to have something against Pikachu for some reason.

On a completely personal note I can't walk far and will probably be catching a taxi to TWDT after PPD, so if anyone wants to join me, feel free.

I also love the idea of another dinner for foodies, that would be cool to do!

Yeah, I'd like to keep tickets under 30 dollars with 15-20 as the optimal target. I'm ok absorbing some of the costs and taking a loss to keep the price low, but I'm not gonna subsidize $TEXAS caterers.

TOGSolid on May 2012

At the point in time when bullets can pass through the interdimensional walls, when firepower takes up the entirety and eternity of space and time all being stuck in a neverending life and death cycle as bullets recover and destroy their bodies in quick succession, no one able to think about anything but the sheer force of the bullets rapidly flying literally everywhere in the materium turning the warp itself into nothing but a sea of semi-automatic weaponry. Then there will be enough dakka.

Also, I've noticed parties happening at ~1480 10th Ave. I'm not sure the address nor the name of the space, but its across from Neumos/Moe Bar/Pike Place Fish Fry and has a large roll up door/window that makes for an interesting POV and fresh air in a generally nice weather season of Seattle. Just a thought.

Also, I've noticed parties happening at ~1480 10th Ave. I'm not sure the address nor the name of the space, but its across from Neumos/Moe Bar/Pike Place Fish Fry and has a large roll up door/window that makes for an interesting POV and fresh air in a generally nice weather season of Seattle. Just a thought.

Hmmm... sounds like a mission for the scouting team!

We need a scouting team name, btw.

Owner of and General Badass Chick at Seattle's only Gamer-Owned Distillery, Old Ballard Liquor Co.
Pre-PAX Game Night is the only way to fly.
If you're not part of the Cookie Brigade, you're doing it wrong.

Yeah, if you guys traditionally do a pub crawl after the dinner....and are dead set on going up to Cap Hill, the Ballroom is a bit of a walk uphill.

However, as I said in a previous post, our "other" nightspot of pubs - Belltown - is a couple of blocks away from it, and has a more eclectic array of pubs than hipsterbar-hipsterbar-gaybar-hipsterbar-hipstarbar-gaybar-hipsterbar-divebar-gaybar-hipsterbar.

And you accuse me of being selfish. Sounds like you want this moved just because you don't like the area the crawl is in.

You are definitely new here so lemme explain the Triwizard Drinking Tourney to you. It is a crawl that raises money for child's play. It is a crawl that also involves 400 drunks wandering the streets in 4 teams composed of two 50 man sub groups per team. Half of us are dressed vaguely like wizards(or in my case....well...look at my avatar) and 4 of us have music blasting megaphones. Last year you could easily spot about a dozen drunk Slytherins singing and dancing down the street to Party All The Time.

There are no hipsters around that night because we completely take over and raid the Hill.

So now do you understand why your selfish idea to randomly move the crawl is incredibley bad?

Not selfish at all, as I wouldn't be participating in the crawl, regardless. That part of my life is in my past, unfortunately. And trust me, 400 drunk nerds doesn't even register next to the mass of hipsters that are there 7 nights a week . My original suggestion was based entirely upon someone stating that solutions were needed for a venue for a catered pre-PAX meal, and nothing says Pacific Northwest cuisine like a TD establishment. Nothing more.

Also, I've noticed parties happening at ~1480 10th Ave. I'm not sure the address nor the name of the space, but its across from Neumos/Moe Bar/Pike Place Fish Fry and has a large roll up door/window that makes for an interesting POV and fresh air in a generally nice weather season of Seattle. Just a thought.

Hmmm... sounds like a mission for the scouting team!

We need a scouting team name, btw.

Never Mind...that's Sole Repair. I'm a doofus. I missed last year's PPD, haven't been to Sole Repair yet on an official notice, and Sole Repair has an address on Pike not 10th. Gah.

Yeah, I'd like to keep tickets under 30 dollars with 15-20 as the optimal target. I'm ok absorbing some of the costs and taking a loss to keep the price low, but I'm not gonna subsidize $TEXAS caterers.

Owner of and General Badass Chick at Seattle's only Gamer-Owned Distillery, Old Ballard Liquor Co.
Pre-PAX Game Night is the only way to fly.
If you're not part of the Cookie Brigade, you're doing it wrong.

Yeah, I'd like to keep tickets under 30 dollars with 15-20 as the optimal target. I'm ok absorbing some of the costs and taking a loss to keep the price low, but I'm not gonna subsidize $TEXAS caterers.

Don't you mean $ALASKA caterers?

Nah, no one could afford an $ALASKA caterer. That'd be like millions of dollars per plate plus the countless under the table bribes required to host it. The silverware would be made entirely from poached elephant tusks, the plates made out of diamonds, and your margarita glass would be lined with the purest cocaine in the world.

TOGSolid on May 2012

At the point in time when bullets can pass through the interdimensional walls, when firepower takes up the entirety and eternity of space and time all being stuck in a neverending life and death cycle as bullets recover and destroy their bodies in quick succession, no one able to think about anything but the sheer force of the bullets rapidly flying literally everywhere in the materium turning the warp itself into nothing but a sea of semi-automatic weaponry. Then there will be enough dakka.

@TOGSolid I like how you think with the $ALASKA catering. Please to start that up, ok?

Get some money launderers investors on the line and I'll get on it!

Oooh, the napkins could all be baby seal skin!

(I'll stop now >.>)

At the point in time when bullets can pass through the interdimensional walls, when firepower takes up the entirety and eternity of space and time all being stuck in a neverending life and death cycle as bullets recover and destroy their bodies in quick succession, no one able to think about anything but the sheer force of the bullets rapidly flying literally everywhere in the materium turning the warp itself into nothing but a sea of semi-automatic weaponry. Then there will be enough dakka.

Don't forget eagle feathers for the decorations! Also, if I knew any money launderers I'd still be in the restaurant business.

There'd be plenty of feathers left over after making the hot wings.... ;)

Mild, Hot, and AMERICA FUCK YEAH.

At the point in time when bullets can pass through the interdimensional walls, when firepower takes up the entirety and eternity of space and time all being stuck in a neverending life and death cycle as bullets recover and destroy their bodies in quick succession, no one able to think about anything but the sheer force of the bullets rapidly flying literally everywhere in the materium turning the warp itself into nothing but a sea of semi-automatic weaponry. Then there will be enough dakka.

This is daft - its over 3 months away, and I'm already giddy about this! Goodness knows what I'll be like when we get there - at PPD '08 I had to fanboy Kim Swift - LewieP pointed her out and I just had to go talk to her about Portal!

I lol'd so hard. I want them to make bacon shutter shades for that thing.

TOGSolid on May 2012

At the point in time when bullets can pass through the interdimensional walls, when firepower takes up the entirety and eternity of space and time all being stuck in a neverending life and death cycle as bullets recover and destroy their bodies in quick succession, no one able to think about anything but the sheer force of the bullets rapidly flying literally everywhere in the materium turning the warp itself into nothing but a sea of semi-automatic weaponry. Then there will be enough dakka.

Yeah, if you guys traditionally do a pub crawl after the dinner....and are dead set on going up to Cap Hill, the Ballroom is a bit of a walk uphill.

However, as I said in a previous post, our "other" nightspot of pubs - Belltown - is a couple of blocks away from it, and has a more eclectic array of pubs than hipsterbar-hipsterbar-gaybar-hipsterbar-hipstarbar-gaybar-hipsterbar-divebar-gaybar-hipsterbar.

While every bar is not set in stone, we already have a rapport with Cap Hill. Much time and effort has gone into scouting out and planning the past TWDTs. To move it to a new location would be like starting over from scratch.

And trust me, 400 drunk nerds doesn't even register next to the mass of hipsters that are there 7 nights a week .

This statement is absurd. And I don't mean that in offense, I would like extend an invintation to join the TWDT and witness it first hand. We drive the locals away. The homeless are a little harder to lose.

I thought we usually scared even the homeless guys off? Also your bitchin wands link is broken btw.

TOGSolid on May 2012

At the point in time when bullets can pass through the interdimensional walls, when firepower takes up the entirety and eternity of space and time all being stuck in a neverending life and death cycle as bullets recover and destroy their bodies in quick succession, no one able to think about anything but the sheer force of the bullets rapidly flying literally everywhere in the materium turning the warp itself into nothing but a sea of semi-automatic weaponry. Then there will be enough dakka.

Owner of and General Badass Chick at Seattle's only Gamer-Owned Distillery, Old Ballard Liquor Co.
Pre-PAX Game Night is the only way to fly.
If you're not part of the Cookie Brigade, you're doing it wrong.